Running Their Own Race

Have you ever watched a horse race of thoroughbreds?  The horses charge forward with boundless grace and speed, intent on the stretch ahead and, ultimately, the finish line.  The horses wear blinders, devices that channel their view to their own course and block their vision of how rivals are progressing.  They move ahead, running their personal best, urged on by the jockey who has become one with their movements. 

It’s easy to make a connection between the horse race and the classroom.  When the objective is clear, learning is enhanced (Marzano et. al, 2001).  Students know where the finish line is.  Unpacking that objective helps students see the learning progression they will follow in pursuit of their goal.  A differentiated progression makes the path their own and increases determination.  Differentiation also channels students’ views toward their own course, and they become less concerned with how their efforts compare with the efforts of other students and more concerned with how they will navigate the path toward their objective.  The teacher provides direction as the race progresses. 

In a similar way, teachers’ own learning is enhanced when a clear objective has been set and when the learning path is differentiated.  Teachers can then channel their energy toward following the learning path that leads to the instructional improvement they’ve targeted.   As a partner in the process, the instructional coach guides progress down that unique learning path, perhaps even providing blinders to focus the work.  Using the GIR model, coaching follows a path unique to the objective that is determined by the needs of the teacher.  The coach occasionally reins in when an approach is clearly not working, but more frequently the coach provides gentle guidance, urges the teacher along, and affirms and praises as the finish line comes into view.      

This week, you might want to take a look at:

A blog about setting goals with students: 

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/back-to-school-goal-setting-students-teacher-maurice-elias

Education Week’s “Spotlight on Deeper Learning,” a free download that contains 6 articles on skills and knowledge for our changing world:

http://edweek.org/media/downloads/index.html?f=spotlight-deeper-learning-v2.pdf

An article about modeling rigorous thinking during peer conferences:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1420

A video about reasoning with division:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/common-core-teaching-division?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest

An article about deepening literacy thinking through close reading:

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec12/vol70/num04/Closing-in-on-Close-Reading.aspx

That’s it for this week – Happy Coaching!

Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., & Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.